Meeting the Needs of Diverse

Learners

Through Virtual Experiences

Plunge In!

Presented by: Debra Mozingo

July 27, 2009

Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners:

1. Issues: individualized learning/special needs

2. Solutions using virtual experiences:

• Virtual Field Trips

• Simulations

Challenges: Individualized Learning/Special Needs

Children come to school with a variety of:

•backgrounds

•interests and ability levels

•learning styles

•special needs

Solutions for students with diverse needs:

Adjust level of difficulty of materials

Engage various multiple intelligences

Be sensitive to culture, language, and gender

Incorporate student interests

Use multiple types of assessment

More solutions for students with diverse needs:

Include cooperative learning experiences

Provide multi-sensory experiences:

Ear Eye

Taste Touch Smell

How can virtual experiences help these challenges?

Virtual Experiences cross the barriers of:

•Time & Space

•Distance

•Economics

•Danger & Inaccessibility

Virtual experiences provide solutions

for individualized needs:

Authentic & inquiry-based learning

Highly motivating & appeals to multiple senses

Varied learning modalities & formats

Adaptable for special needs

Virtual experiences help students with special needs:

• Student-centered interface: easy to navigate

• Students with hearing impairments:

• captions and/or written transcripts

• Students with visual impairments: audio descriptions

Adjust the level of difficulty

Types of Virtual Experiences:

Virtual Field Trips/ professionally produced:

National Geographic Expeditions Online

4-H Virtual Farm Tour

Monterey Bay Aquarium

More on Virtual Field Trips:

Meet Me at the Corner :

Educational “You Tube” for kids!

Homework Spot Directory of Field Trips

Create your own virtual field trip

Virtual Simulations:

Frog dissection - solution for fine motor problems

Pottery class – also for fine motor issues

Great Barrier Reef Virtual Dive – accessibility

Works Cited

Devlin-Scherer, R. (2008). Cost-free Travel with Virtual Field Trips.

http://www.techlearning.com/article/1338

Johnson, L. & A. Lamb. (2007). Digital and Virtual Field Trips. http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic35.htm

Klemm, B. & G. Tuthill. (2003). Virtual field trips: best practices.

International Journal of Instructional Media 30(2), p.177. Retrieved July 25, 2009 from Academic OneFile. Gale. Eastern Michigan University. http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.emich.edu/

Lamb, A. (2002). Bringing Learning Alive From All: A Dozen Different Ways. http://emuonline.edu/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=3487388

Works Cited Continued

Websites:http://eduscapes.com/tap/

http://www.field-guides.com/index.htm

http://www.froguts.com/flash_content/index.html

http://www.gifanimations.com/

http://www.handsoncrafts.org/000-a.htm

http://www.homeworkspot.com/fieldtrip/

http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/

Works Cited Continued

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/00/earthpulse/reef/reef1_flash.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/adventure.html

http://office.microsoft.com/en-s/clipart/default.aspx

http://sites.ext.vt.edu/virtualfarm/main.html